G RAJAMMA Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR CHITTOOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A short but an important question of law of general importance which arises for consideration and resolution in these three Writ Petitions is that whether it is permissible in law for the Governmental authorities to resume the lands granted to the landless poor persons in Form 'D' Patta (Appendix.V) under StandingOrder (S.O.) No. 15 of the Andhra Pradesh Board of Revenue Standing Orders for the purpose of allotting the same to a Cooperative Society for establishing an additional Milk Processing Plant (Dairy) by virtue of power reserved for them either under Condition 17 of the Conditions of the said Form 'D' Patta or under Section 4(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977, hereinafter shortly referred to as 'the Act'. This question arises in the following facts-situation of these cases.

(2.) One Smt. C. Rajamma is the petitioner in W.P.No. 1861 of 1994; C. Chandrasekhara Reddy alias Chandra Reddy is the petitioner in W.P. No.1290 of 1994 and Smt. Chandraiahgari Guramma and Smt. Chandraiahgari Chandramma are the petitioners in W.P.No. 1640 of 1994.

(3.) Ac. O.79 cents of land in Sy.No. 5/4 and Ac. 3.52 cents of land in Sy. No.5/8 of Avilala Village was assigned to one Muni Reddy by the erstwhile Tahsildar of Chandragiri on 12-6-1959 under S.O. 15 of the Board of Revenue Standing Orders by issuing Form 'D' Patta. Smt. C. Rajamma claims to be the legal heir of the said Muni Reddy. Ac.O.52 cents in Sy.No. 5/3 and Ac. 1.77 cents in Sy.No. 5/7 of Avilala Village was assigned to one V. Muniswamy Reddy by the erstwhile Tahsildar of Chandragiri on 12-6-1959 by issuing Form 'D' Patta. C. Chandrasekhara Reddy alias Chandra Reddy claims to be the legal heir of the said V. Muniswamy Reddy. Similarly, Ac. 0.52 cents in Sy.No. 5/5 and Ac. 2.22 cents in Sy.No. 5/9 of Avilala Village was assigned to one Chandraiahgari Venkata Rami Reddy by the erstwhile Tahsildar of Chandragiri on 12-6-1959 by issuing Form 'D' Patta. Smt. Chandraiahgari Guramma and Smt. Chandraiahgari Chandramma claim that the said Chandraiahgari Venkta Rami Reddy is none other than a cousin brother of their husband. There is no dispute that all these lands in question were assigned to the afore-mentioned three persons under S.O. 15 of the Andhra Pradesh Board of Revenue Standing Orders. It is also the case of all the petitioners that even before the assignment of the lands on 12-6-1959, the lands in question were in actual, unauthorised possession and enjoyment of the afore-mentioned three persons and members of their families. In other words, the petitioners claim that the lands in question have been in actual possession and enjoyment of the petitioners and their predecessors-in-title for the past more than 50 years.